TOCOPHEROLS IN RUNNER AND VIRGINIA PEANUT CULTIVARS AT VARIOUS MATURITY STAGES

Alpha-, beta-, gamma-, and delta-tocopherol (alpha-T, beta-T, gamma-T and delta-T) were determined in peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) cultivars Florunner, Sunrunner, Southern Runner, AT-127, GK-7, NC-7, NC-9 and GK-3. There were significant differences in tocopherol content among runner- and virginia-type peanut cultivars, and these differences were affected by the degree of maturation. alpha-T decreased with maturation for all of the cultivars except Florunner. gamma-T increased with maturation for GK-7, NC-9 and GK-3 but decreased for Florunner. For the mature nuts, Florunner and NC-9 had the highest levels of alpha-T while GK-3 and Southern Runner had the lowest levels. GK-7 and Sunrunner had the highest levels of gamma-T, while the lowest levels were in Florunner and GK-3.